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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

METRO
STRESS
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1 Warm-up

How do you get around your town/city? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this way of
travelling?

2 Key words

Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:

1. suicide a. a building that gives protection from something, e.g. bad

weather or danger
2. commuter b. a person who regularly travels to and from work

3. overcrowding c. dirty, containing harmful chemicals

4. car d. part of a train

5. shelter e. the act of intentionally killing yourself

6. polluted f. when there are too many people

3 Find the information

Find the information below by reading the article on the Moscow metro system on the next page:

1. The number of people who commit suicide on the Moscow metro each year
2. The possible dangers of using the metro every day according to psychotherapist Sergei Nazarov
3. The leader of the Soviet Union when the Moscow metro was built
4. The number of people who use the Moscow metro every day
5. The number of hours that metro workers spend underground per day
6. The time it takes Dmitry Sharapov to commute by metro every day

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METRO STRESS

Moscow metro commuters suffer from stress

Underground suicides are expected to rise as more Russians lose their jobs.

1.
Problems at home, worried about losing your job in 7.
Long escalators lead down to the stations, which are
the economic crisis, or just feeling down? Russian some of the deepest in the world. Many were built
medical experts have the answer - take the bus. with the idea that they could function as shelters
2.
Travelling on Moscow’s crowded metro system is in the event of a nuclear attack. The air quality so
causing despair among commuters, psychologists in far below street level is very poor - many of the
the city say. ventilation shafts are positioned close to main roads,
so the air inside the metro stations is polluted.
3.
About 150 people commit suicide on the metro each
year and the figures are expected to rise as more
8.
The situation is even worse for metro workers, who
Russians are laid off and faced with money problems. work 12-hour shifts deep under the streets of the
Russian capital. In addition to the health risks of
4.
"The noise of the arriving train increases stress
breathing in polluted air, they also suffer from the
and people are tempted to solve all their problems
stress of being underground for so long. "Over time
with one quick movement," psychotherapist Sergei
every single station employee or driver gets ill in some
Nazarov told the newspaper Novye Izvestia. He also
way," says Svetlana Razina, the leader of the Metro
said that using the metro for long periods each day
Workers’ Union.
could lead to panic attacks and a paranoid fear about
being followed.
9.
Despite all the problems associated with the metro,
Muscovites are sceptical about suggestions to use
5.
Much of the Moscow metro was built when Stalin
alternative forms of transport.
was the leader of the Soviet Union, and it is one of the
most efficient in the world. Many of the stations are
10.
"Using the metro is really unpleasant," said Dmitry
luxurious "people’s palaces", built in a socialist realist Sharapov, 29, who spends 45 minutes underground
style. Nevertheless, using the metro can be stressful each morning and evening to get to and from work.
because of overcrowding and poor air quality. "But what’s the alternative? Drive, or take the bus?
It would take me twice as long and there would be
6.
Foreigners and Russians from the provinces who
just as much pollution. If it didn’t lead me to suicide,
move to Moscow often complain about overcrowding
it would probably lead me to murder."
on the metro, which is used by about 9 million people
every day. Personal space is ignored as passengers Adapted from The Independent, by Shaun Walker,
rush to fill the cars before the doors close, and the Friday, 27 March 2009
drivers don’t often wait for everyone to board the
train.

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4 Checking understanding

Read the text again and answer the following questions:

1. Why are more people expected to commit suicide on the Moscow metro?
2. What do you think ‘one quick movement’ refers to in Paragraph 4?
3. Why can using the Moscow metro be stressful?
4. Why were Moscow’s metro stations built so deep underground?
5. Why is the air inside Moscow’s metro stations so polluted?
6. What are the two main problems that Moscow’s metro workers suffer from?

5 Find the words

Find the words in the text which mean:

1. depressed, unhappy (adj., P1)

2. a feeling of hopelessness (noun, P2)
3. no longer employed because there is no work for you to do (verb, P3)
4. want to do something that they should not do (passive verb, P4)
5. sudden feelings of anxiety in which your heart beats very fast and you think something bad is
going to happen (plural noun, P4)
6. do something quickly (verb, P6)
7. a long, empty passage that allows air to enter a building or closed space (noun, P7)
8. the period of time in which you are at work (noun, P8)

6 Phrases in the text

Match the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right to form key phrases from the text:

1. lose a. 12-hour shifts

2. commit b. a problem

3. board c. stress

4. solve d. suicide

5. suffer from e. the train

6. work f. your job

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7 Grammar - Passive voice

Study the following examples below and point out the differences between the passive sentences
(1-3) and active ones (a-c)

1. ... many of the ventilation shafts are positioned close to main roads ...
2. ... the metro [...] is used by about 9 million people every day.
3. Much of the Moscow metro was built when Stalin was the leader ...

a. About 150 people commit suicide on the metro each year.

b. The noise of the arriving train increases stress.
c. ... passengers rush to fill the cars before the doors close.

How is the passive voice formed?

Find more examples in Paragraph 4, 6 and 7.

8 Grammar practice 1
Transform the following sentences into the passive voice:

1. Somebody stole my wallet yesterday.

My wallet ...
2. Somebody invented the telephone in 1876.
The telephone ...
3. Many people have lost their jobs during this economic crisis.
Many jobs ...
4. When did somebody write this letter?
When was ...
5. Do you think they will discover a cure for cancer one day?
Do you think a cure for cancer ...
6. They didn’t advertise the job offer on the Internet.
The job offer ...
7. Almost everybody uses a computer these days.
Computers ...
8. My grandparents built this house over 60 years ago.
This house ...
9. A loud noise woke me up this morning.
I ...
10. All the hotel staff are treating us really well.
We ...

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9 Grammar practice 2

Now look at the following sentence:

Underground suicides are expected to rise as more Russians lose their jobs.
The meaning of this sentence is: ‘People expect that underground suicides will rise as more Russians
lose their jobs.’
This above structure can be used with a number of other verbs. Rewrite the following sentences using
the structure above:

1. People consider that the Moscow metro is one of the most stressful transport systems in the
world.
2. Weather experts predict that this summer will be the hottest summer in ten years.
3. People believe that very few Siberian tigers exist in the wild.
4. People predict that house prices will fall as the economic recession continues.
5. People thought that the problem was impossible to solve.
6. People assumed that ‘Andrew’ was not the criminal’s real name.

10 Talking point

What are the main problems travelling around your city/country etc.? What could be done to solve
them?

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METRO STRESS

Key

2. Key words

1. e 2. b 3. f 4. d 5. a 6. c

3. Find the information

1. about 150
2. panic attacks and a paranoid fear about being followed
3. Stalin
4. about 9 million
5. 12
6. 45 minutes each morning and evening

4. Checking understanding

1. More Russians will lose their jobs and have money problems.
2. jumping in front of an arriving train
3. Using the metro can be stressful because of overcrowding and poor air quality.
4. They were designed to serve as shelters in the case of a nuclear attack.
5. The ventilation shafts are close to main roads.
6. the health problems caused by breathing in polluted air and the stress of being underground for many hours

5. Find the words

1. down 2. despair 3. laid off 4. are tempted (to do sth)

5. panic attacks 6. rush 7. ventilation shaft 8. shift

6. Phrases in the text

1. f 2. d 3. e 4. b 5. c 6. a

7. Grammar - Passive voice

In passive sentences the subject of the sentence is usually either unknown or not important. If the subject is
included, it is introduced with ‘by’. The object of the passive sentence takes the position of the subject in active
sentences. The passive is formed with the verb ‘be’ in the appropriate tense + the past participle form of the verb.
‘people are tempted to solve ...’ (P4) ‘personal space is ignored ...’ (P6); ‘Many were built with the idea that they
could function as ...’ (P7)

8. Grammar practice 1

1. My wallet was stolen yesterday.

2. The telephone was invented in 1876.
3. Many jobs have been lost during this economic crisis.
4. When was this letter written?
5. Do you think a cure for cancer will be discovered one day?

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METRO STRESS

6. The job offer wasn’t advertised on the Internet.

7. Computers are used by almost everybody these days.
8. This house was built by my grandparents over 60 years ago.
9. I was woken up by a loud noise this morning.
10. We are being treated really well by all the hotel staff.

Draw attention to the present continuous of the verb ‘be’ (We are being...).

9. Grammar practice 2

Point out the negative form of this structure: ‘Underground suicides are expected not to rise ...’
For the weaker students, do the first sentence as an example or prompt the answer by saying ’The Moscow metro
is con...’
1. The Moscow metro is considered to be one of the most stressful transport systems in the world.
2. This summer is predicted to be the hottest summer in ten years.
3. Very few Siberian tigers are believed to exist in the wild.
4. House prices are predicted to fall as the economic recession continues.
5. The problem was thought to be impossible to solve.
6. ‘Andrew’ was assumed not to be the criminal’s real name.

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